Thursday, January 20, 2005

Operation Checkmate

U.S. Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Reconnaissance and Surveillance Platoon search for weapons and munitions outside a house in Jabella, Iraq, Jan 19, 2005. The raid kicked off Operation Checkmate, a fresh offensive aimed at disrupting insurgent activity ahead of national elections later this month. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers

U.S. Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit escort detainees back to a vehicle after capturing them during a raid in Jabella, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2005. The raid kicked off Operation Checkmate, a fresh offensive aimed at disrupting insurgent activity ahead of national elections later this month. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers

Combat engineers from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit use metal detectors to search for buried weapons and munitions outside a house in Jabella, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2005. Six CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters transported a joint strike force -- composed of elements of the Iraqi SWAT team, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance platoon and U.S. Army troops -- which swarmed the target, a crop of houses believed to shelter a number of militants and a stockpile of weapons and munitions. The raid kicked off Operation Checkmate, a fresh offensive aimed at disrupting insurgent activity ahead of national elections later this month. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers

A member of the Iraqi SWAT team provides security as his fellow team members and U.S. Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit search for weapons and munitions outside a house in Jabella, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2005. The raid kicked off Operation Checkmate, a fresh offensive aimed at disrupting insurgent activity ahead of national elections later this month. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers

A U.S. Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit guards prisoners captured during an early-morning raid in Jabella, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2005. The raid kicked off Operation Checkmate, a fresh offensive aimed at disrupting insurgent activity ahead of national elections later this month. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers

Members of the Iraqi SWAT team run to a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter after completing a raid in Jabella, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2005. Six CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters transported a joint strike force -- composed of elements of the Iraqi SWAT team, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance platoon and U.S. Army troops -- which swarmed the target, a crop of houses believed to shelter a number of militants and a stockpile of weapons and munitions. The raid kicked off Operation Checkmate, a fresh offensive aimed at disrupting insurgent activity ahead of national elections later this month. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers

Determined Villagers, Coalition Funds Build School

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark McLaughlin, assigned to the Asadabad Provincial Reconstruction Team, and a local elder cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Qamchai school in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, Jan. 17, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Juanita Chang

Coalition Forces’ Asadabad Provincial Reconstruction Team and Qamchaivillagers celebrate the grand opening of the first school in their regionBy U.S. Army Capt. Juanita Chang
Combined Task Force Thunder

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 18, 2005 — Insurmountable terrain and high river waters did not thwart the determined residents of a village here from building a first-rate school for area children.

Thanks to the funding of the Coalition Forces’ Asadabad Provincial Reconstruction Team and the determination of the local residents, Qamchai village celebrated the grand opening of the first school in their region on Jan. 17.

“We had to use donkeys to carry each of the bricks up the mountain,” said Engineer Hafizullah, responsible for the construction of the project.

“When the river rose we even had to construct boats to carry the bricks and cement across”, he said.

Both school buildings have eight classrooms capable of holding 20 children each, allowing a total of 320 children to attend school at one time. The plan is to allow boys and girls to attend the school at different times or on different days.

“Take care of this school and don’t let anyone destroy it,” Hafizullah pleaded to the village residents in attendance.

The local police chief also made a speech beseeching the residents of the valley to protect the school and others who bring education to the region.

The new principal for the school said local villagers were so determined to bring education to the area that everyone pitched in according to their ability.

This school is not only for religious studies but also for education for this world, the principal said. Religious studies are for the next world, but education is for our life in this world, he said.
This school is the first public facility to be built in this region and the residents expressed their gratitude to the coalition forces by presenting all the attending members with gifts of traditional Afghan rugs or clothing.

U.S. Army Col. Gary Cheek, commander of Combined Task Force Thunder, crosses the river on the way back from attending the grand opening of the Qamchai school in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, Jan. 17, 2005. Each brick and the cement to build the school had to be carried across the river and up a treacherous mountain on donkeys. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Juanita ChangLocal Afghan boys sing songs celebrating the grand opening of the Qamchai school in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, Jan. 17, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Juanita Chang“The future leaders of Kunar and Afghanistan will come from these classrooms,” said Capt. John Wilt, the team leader for Civil Affairs Team-A from the Asadabad Provincial Reconstruction Team.

This is another of those stories I'd lay money you won't see on any of the mainstream media venues. I'd be happy to be proven wrong. I've said it before, and I'll say it again ~ I never cease to be humbled by the character and compassion our troops show in Iraq, Afghanistan, and anywhere else we send them. They are truly the best that this country has to offer, and I am immeasurably privileged to have the chance to tell some of them that personally.

In Today's News - Thursday, January 20, 2005

JuneauEmpire.com: Associated PressSenate gives strong endorsement to RiceCondoleezza Rice won strong but not unanimous endorsement as secretary of state from a Senate panel Wednesday, assuring skeptical Democrats she welcomed debate about the nation's foreign policy course and wouldn't sugarcoat advice to President Bush. Bush says he feels weight of historyIn a city brimming with pageantry under fortress-like security, President Bush said Wednesday he felt the weight of history for his second inauguration. He paused to reflect on treasured historical documents, including George Washington's handwritten, first inaugural address. 5 car bombs rock Baghdad before electionsInsurgents unleashed a wave of car bombings across the capital Wednesday, killing about a dozen people, despite stepped-up U.S. and Iraqi measures to protect this month's elections. North of Baghdad, insurgents killed a British security officer and kidnapped a Japanese engineer, officials said. Israel agrees to put off Gaza invasionThe top Palestinian security official Wednesday ordered troops deployed along the Gaza-Israel frontier in an attempt to curb attacks from the Arab enclave, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reversed course again, approving a "security meeting" that for the time being headed off a possible large-scale Israeli invasion to curb the surging violence. Indonesia raises tsunami death toll by 70kIndonesia's Health Ministry declared Wednesday that more than 70,000 people previously listed as missing are dead, significantly raising its estimate for the death toll from last month's tsunami.

Five car bombs rock Baghdad before electionsA wave of car bombings shook the Iraqi capital Wednesday, killing at least 12 people as rebels stepped up their offensive to block the Jan. 30 national election. Other attacks were reported north and south of the capital, but the U.N. election chief said only a sustained onslaught could stop the ballot. Kansas.com: Iraq

From the Department of Defense:Rebuilding Projects Have Security PayoffBAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2005 — There have been security payoffs due to the reconstruction money being spent in Iraq, U.S. reconstruction officials said here today. Sadr City is a case in point, said Ambassador Bill Taylor, director of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office. Story

Opinion Poll Finds Iraqis Favor Elections
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2005 — As coalition and Iraqi forces continue to kill and capture insurgents bent on disrupting or preventing Iraq's national assembly election, a new poll shows Iraqis overwhelmingly believe it's important for them to cast their ballots Jan. 30. Story

Fighting Jointly Now Norm for U.S. MilitaryBAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2005 — Servicemembers joining the military today are not joining just the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps - they are joining a truly joint force. The American military has reached unprecedented levels of joint operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom, military officials here said. Story

ON THE GROUND'Checkmate' Launched to Disrupt InsurgencyFORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2005 — Operation Checkmate kicked off with a pre-dawn raid near Jabella as Iraqi security forces and U.S. Marines rounded up 15 suspected insurgents south of Baghdad today, beginning a fresh offensive aimed at disrupting insurgent activity ahead of national elections later this month. Story

Carpentry, Ingenuity Improve Deployment
LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, BALAD, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2005 — U.S. soldiers are finding new ways to improve their standard of living in Iraq, and their pioneering ingenuity is most evident at Taqaddum. Story